Champion's open letter accuses staff member Stretch of reading chat logs

An open letter to Ched

On 17 Oct 2017 Champion [1927067] started a General Discussion thread titled "My open letter to Ched on staff abuse." Champion alleged that staff member Stretch had abused staff tools for faction or personal gain. Allegation^[1][2]

The thread's last post is dated 27 Oct 2017. TornLife's archive holds 660 posts, with 659 replies and 15,214 views at the last fetch. 154 different players posted, and 17 of the posts were written by staff, officers or moderators.^[2]

What Champion alleged

Champion wrote that after a few members of JFA left for MnC, Stretch went into Nova's chat logs with staff tools to see who else was planning to leave. Champion said Stretch found a conversation between Nova and Psychotica about JFA and its leadership. Allegation^[1]

Champion alleged that Stretch confronted Psychotica, called Psychotica a spy, and then said Nova was taking screenshots of their conversations and passing them to many people. Champion said this nearly ended the friendship between Nova and Psychotica. Allegation^[1]

Champion wrote that Nova reported Stretch and received a reply from Chedburn confirming that staff abuse had taken place. Champion asked why Stretch was still a staff and committee member. The reply was shown as an image, which is not reproduced in the archive. Participant claim^[1]

On 18 Oct 2017 Champion posted a screenshot of Nova's report on Stretch and added it to the opening post. Champion said a source had agreed to its use after a long conversation, and asked readers not to judge that source. Participant claim^[3]

Champion also wrote that if Stretch had not abused staff tools and Ched could confirm it, Champion would give permission for their karma to be set to 0. Participant claim^[4]

Defenders, doubters and an admin

RX8 [1798198] wrote that without Ched's confirmation being shown, the thread was an accusation without proof. RX8 also said Champion presented rumour and hearsay as fact, and suggested a 90 day forum ban if it was a troll post.^[5][6]

DUDE [1028023] wrote that it was pathetic that Stretch was still staff, and cited their own past dispute with Stretch. DUDE said staff reading messages was not the issue, but that abusive behaviour towards players was not acceptable. Participant claim^[7]

Cazio [585240] wrote that Ched's verdict had already been given and that the thread looked like an effort to overrule it. Cazio added that if the claim was true, it was a mistake not worth losing a good member of staff over.^[8]

Admin bogie [148747] wrote that bogie was shocked at how many people defended staff, and said this convinced staff they were untouchable. In later posts bogie said they would not be surprised if it was true, and that Stretch's lack of a serious response made bogie think Stretch was quite likely guilty.^[9][10][11]

mug [553318], a Torn officer/committee member, replied to Champion by quoting the claim that Nova passed screenshots around. mug wrote that it was pretty obvious how people had seen the conversation.^[12]

Midknight [332505] wrote that the matter had been swept under the rug before. Midknight said removal would have been fine in their own case and called their fedding retarded. Participant claim^[13]

GlitchedZombie [1755703] noted that a screenshot could be checked with a forensics tool for tampering. Stente [1899758] said it was all speculation, including a small chance the screenshot was faked and a likelier chance it came from someone else. Community speculation^[14][15]

JustJanet [911066] argued the thread was Champion's own spitefulness. JustJanet noted that Champion had applied to one of Stretch's factions, and suggested the issue only arose after Champion was not accepted. Community speculation^[16]

MeanMike [1884314] called the thread garbage and asked what gain Stretch had got. MeanMike said Ched, Psychotica, Nova and Stretch were not responding.^[17]

On 23 Oct 2017 JimmyJames [581165] alleged that Stretch went around lying about how the information was obtained, and asked how Ched was okay with it. Allegation^[18]

Calls for a response, and later links

On 24 Oct 2017 Dekloren [900534] opened a thread in Bugs & Issues about the 31 page thread. Dekloren asked for at least an official response and an open dialogue with the players.^[19][20]

On 28 Oct 2017 Jim-Gyp [1924816] linked the thread in "Flush The To[rn]ilet!!!", describing Champion as protesting against staff abuse and saying many would say it was not handled properly.^[21][22]

The thread was linked again in January 2019 and May 2020. On 04 May 2020 Ceb [68232], a Torn officer/committee member, wrote that they were subscribed to it, and Muckamuck [1884573] joked that it could make a necromancy cult. The documents contain no official verdict on Stretch.^{[23][24][25][26][27]}

Timeline

1. 17 Oct 2017 Champion opens the thread alleging Stretch abused staff tools; bogie, RX8, mug and others reply the same day.^[1][5][9]
2. 18 Oct 2017 Champion posts a screenshot of Nova's report on Stretch. Participant claim^[3]
3. 23 Oct 2017 JimmyJames and Stente post lengthy replies.^[15][18]
4. 24 Oct 2017 Dekloren asks in Bugs & Issues for an official response.^[19]
5. 4 May 2020 Ceb and Muckamuck post in the old thread.^[26][27]